mac

MAC Surf Baby: Hibiscus Lipstick

May 30th, 2011 by Karen 7 Comments

MAC Surf Baby Lipstick in Hibiscus, $15.50.

I just had to pick up one of these bad boys! So glad the MAC store near my house had a tube, as it’s currently sold out on the MAC website.

For more on the MAC Surf Baby Collection, check out…

MAC Surf, Baby! Collection Product Pictures
MAC Surf Baby Product Pictures!
MAC Surf Baby Swatches
MAC Surf Baby Lipglass and Lipstick Swatches (Today Is a Swatchathon!)
MAC Surf Baby Collection Questions and Answers
My MAC Thursday Surf Baby Face of the Day
MAC Surf Baby Cheek Powder in My Paradise: A Diva in Disguise
If Pressed to Answer I’d Say Yes! I Care Deeply for the MAC Surf Baby Careblend Pressed Powders
MAC Surf Baby Eyeshadows
MAC Surf Baby Lipglasses
MAC Surf Baby Cheek Powder

MAC Eyeshadow, Circa 1998

May 27th, 2011 by Karen 19 Comments

I was rifling through my stash and found an ancient pan of Brule that I haven’t used in years. I bought it in 1998 along with Print. Notice the screw-on cap and the MAC logo on the side.

My MAC Thursday Surf Baby Face of the Day

May 26th, 2011 by Karen 57 Comments

mac surf baby

If you’d asked me 15 years ago (back when I was deep into my brown/pink eyeshadow phase) if I’d wear a yellow shadow like Sun Blonde, I probably would have said, “OH, HELL NAW!”

I was pretty conservative with my makeup back then and almost never ventured out of my comfort zone. That slowly changed over time. Now, when it comes to wearing bold eye makeup, I’m still not a Rainbow Brite girl, but I am more adventurous than I was.

When I find a color I really like, I’ll try to figure out ways to wear it that I know I’ll feel comfortable in — sometimes it’s a bright pop on the lids, a subtle wash in the crease or a sweep along my lower lash lines.

I also like to balance my brights with neutrals, and for my makeup today I played with the yellow and teal shades from MAC Surf Baby, pairing them with browns and beige.

MAC Surf Baby products used for this look, clockwise from the lipgloss in the lower left: Lipglass in Krazy Kahuna, Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Blue Noon, Studio Careblend Pressed in Gold-Go-Lightly, Eyeshadow in Short Shorts, Eyeshadow in Surf USA and Eyeshadow in Sun Blonde

Hibiscus, one of the Surf Baby makeup looks on the MAC website, gave me the overall idea, and using a mix of limited edition Surf Baby products and MAC permanent collection sweets, I ended up with a look featuring teal, yellow, brown, coral and beige.

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If Pressed to Answer, I’d Say Yes! I Care Deeply for the MAC Surf Baby Careblend Pressed Powders

May 24th, 2011 by Karen 33 Comments

mac surf baby careblends review

With MAC Surf Baby riding onto counters soon and already hanging ten online, I thought this might be a good time to wax our surfboards philosophic about two superstars from the limited edition collection, the Studio Careblend Pressed Powders in Lush-Light Bronze and Gold-Go-Lightly ($28 each).

I love the Careblends. Like really, really love them. MAC added the line of sheer-to-medium coverage face powders, arguably some of the company’s best face products to date, to their permanent line earlier this year.

Where some tinted face powders can look chalky and/or develop cracks and creases, the Careblends, with a finish just shy of a matte, look like flawless, real skin to me. Lightweight and smooth, they’re also a joy to blend, never irritating the combination dry/oily/acne-prone skin on my face.

MAC Surf Baby Studio Careblend
Studio Careblend/Pressed Powders in Lush-Light Bronze (left) and Gold-Go-Lightly (right)

And the limited edition Careblends MAC included with the Surf Baby release are just as fab as the eight shades already living in the permanent line. I’ve been wearing golden tan Gold-Go Lightly (reminds me of a matte version of NARS Laguna) and pinkish brown Lush-Light Bronze (goes great with a tan!) this week to contour, and also to give my face a warmer look, much like I would with a bronzing powder.

My routine has gone a little something like this…

Forehead — Sometimes a single foundation and powder color all over my face can make my skin appear flat. Dusting a Careblend across my forehead, one of the places where the sun would normally fall, with a big, fluffy powder brush gives the entire face more realistic dimension through subtle variations in color.
Cheeks — Next, to emphasize my cheekbones, I load a small blush brush with one of the Careblends and follow the curves along the bottom of the apples of my cheeks, up toward my ears.
Jawline — Then, to further sculpt the face, I sweep a Careblend along my jawline with the same small blush brush I used for my cheeks.
Eyes — Finally, to really open up my eyes (because you know my @ss looks hella tired all the time, LOL!), I sweep a Careblend into my creases and along my lower lash lines with a domed fluffy crease brush.

Surf Baby does also feature two Bronzing Powders, Solar Riche and Refined Golden ($24 each); I’ve tried them and think they’re solid products, but if I had to choose one or the other, a Bronzing Powder or Careblend, I’d grab one of the Careblends in a heartbeat. I just think they’re a little easier to use, useful in a wider range of situations and look more realistic. I’ve worn them atop bare skin, foundation and even tinted moisturizer, and in every case they’ve done well.
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MAC Surf Baby: Summer Stash Crushed Metallic Pigment

May 14th, 2011 by Karen 6 Comments

The brownish bronze with golden pearl shade from the MAC Surf Baby Summer Stash Crushed Metallic Pigment set ($32.50 for four shades).

MAC Unsung Heroes: Clear Lipglass

May 13th, 2011 by Karen 25 Comments

MAC Clear Lipglass

Kissed by the same shining light that blessed that pair of Manolo Blahnik patent-leather Mary Jane heels you’ve been coveting since forever, MAC Clear Lipglass ($14.50) makes other clear glosses question their line of work. 🙂

With wear time I can only characterize as supernatural, MAC Clear Lipglass outlasts them all. I applied it once before a marathon shopping day at a four-level mall (I was looking for a new bikini… Lipgloss always seems to ease the pain of seeing myself jiggling from all angles in the fitting room), and six hours later it was still going strong. When it comes to longevity, this is one lipgloss that does not mess around.

It even feels serious on my lips (even through MAC’s trademark light vanilla taste and scent), like it came to throw down. The thick, sticky texture gives it great wear time, but it’s a turnoff for some (I kinda love it though).

MAC Clear Lipglass is my favorite clear gloss, and just like a pair of black patent-leather pumps, it works in so many ways…

For a simple, subtle sheen — The way I usually wear it. All it takes is just a tiny drop on the lips distributed with a lip brush (or just by rubbing/moving your lips around).
For lips that go va-va-va-voom! — When I’m in the mood for big, juicy lips with mirror-like shine, I’ll swipe a lip brush across the slanted tip of the tube, and apply a layer either directly to bare lips, or atop a lipstick or lip pencil.
All mixed up — MAC also suggests mixing Clear Lipglass with pigments and applying anywhere except for the eye area. NOTE: If you plan to apply a mixture containing pigments to your lips, double check with your nearby MAC store first to confirm that the pigments you plan to use are safe for use on the lips, because not all of them are.

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